no title

Farmers take to the airwaves

By: Spencer Hunt

The Columbus Dispatch - July 03, 2013 02:05 PM

Groups that represent Ohio farmers have launched a public relations campaign to promote the
steps they're taking to reduce fertilizer and manure pollution and the resulting "blooms" of toxic
algae that grow in lakes.

For the past two weeks, the Ohio Soybean Council has run radio ads touting the $1 million they
and other ag groups contributed to support an Ohio State University research project that will
measure just how much phosphorus and nitrogen run off different fields during rain storms. (You can
read more about that project
by clicking here.)

"Ohio’s agriculture community is investing more than $1 million dollars to study what may be
farming’s contribution to algal blooms in Ohio’s lakes," the ad states. "There doesn’t have to be a
choice between environmental quality and food production."

The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation put out
a press release
Monday that listed 12 different things farmers and the organization were doing to raise awareness,
help research and reduce algae feeding pollution.

The messages preceded federal officials' 2nd annual algae forecast for Lake Erie. It predicts a
300-square-mile bloom of toxic algae will emerge in the lake
starting in August.

"We know that because of these events that there was going to be an elevated awareness," said
Joe Cornely, a Farm Bureau spokesman. "We wanted the community to know we know there is a problem
and we are serious about fixing the part of the problem that we are responsible for."

Kirk Merritt, the Soybean Council's director, said "We certainly want people to know that
farmers share the concern about having clean water."